The Hartford Mutual Funds Expands Mid-Cap Lineup With Reopening Of The Hartford MidCap Value Fund

The Hartford Mutual Funds today announced that it will reopen The Hartford MidCap Value Fund to new investors effective Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

The Fund, which is sub-advised by Wellington Management Company, LLP, has been closed to new investors since August 2004 and has experienced normal outflows without the offsetting benefit of new cash inflows. This has opened up capacity for new investors. In addition, the current market environment has created attractive new investment opportunities for the portfolio management team in the mid-cap space.

Data from Morningstar show that mid-cap stocks have historically outperformed large-cap stocks in the one-year period following the end of the last three official recessions, as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (official recession dates were: 7/81-11/82, 7/90-3/91, and 3/01-11/01).

On December 15, 2008, the fund family reopened The Hartford MidCap Fund and with the reopening of MidCap Value, The Hartford Mutual Funds expands its mid-cap lineup once again.

"The Hartford MidCap Fund has been a strong performing fund in the Morningstar mid-cap growth category, and now we are pleased to offer new investors The Hartford MidCap Value Fund, which has been a strong performer in the mid-cap value space,” says Keith Sloane, senior vice president of The Hartford Mutual Funds. "Advisors and their clients may meet all their mid-cap needs by using both of these funds when building portfolios and both funds benefit from Wellington Management Company’s in-depth, proprietary research.”

James Mordy, a senior vice president and partner at Wellington Management Company, has managed the Fund since its inception in 2001. He is supported by the full resources of the firm. Mordy has 24 years of professional experience and has been managing mid-cap portfolios since 1997.

Mordy believes the Fund is well-positioned to accept new assets. "As our economy shows signs of emerging from recession, there are many opportunities for investors in the mid-cap space,” he says. "Opening the Fund to new investors will help us to take advantage of attractively priced mid-cap companies.”

The Hartford MidCap Value Fund (symbols – Class A:HMVAX, Class C:HMVCX) seeks to outperform the Russell 2500 Value Index by investing in stocks of mid-cap companies. The investment approach focuses on companies with below average price/earnings ratio and bottom-up security selection.

Historical Performance as of 7/31/09

The Fund boasts an impressive historical performance record, having outpaced its benchmark (Russell 2500 Value Index) in four of the last seven calendar years and year-to-date through 7/31/09.

According to Morningstar percentile rankings¹ (based on total return), the Fund has been a strong performer in the Mid-Cap Value category over all time periods ranked (ended 7/31/09):

• Top 10 percent of its category for year-to-date performance (#43 out of 426 funds)
• Top 17 percent of its category for one-year performance (#69 out of 415 funds)
• Top 37 percent for three-year performance (#120 out of 326 funds)
• Top 43 percent for five-year performance (#106 out of 244 funds)
• Top 51 percent for performance since inception on 04/30/01 (#69 out of 134 funds)

Source: Morningstar, 7/09

Quarterly A Share Average Annual Total Return Including Maximum Sales Charge of 5.5% (as of 6/30/09)

Monthly A Share Average Annual Total Return Including Maximum Sales Charge of 5.5% (as of 7/31/2009))

PERFORMANCE DATA QUOTED REPRESENTS PAST PERFORMANCE AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE

FUTURE RESULTS. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For more current performance information to the most recent month ended, please see www.hartfordmutualfunds.com.

Expenses

James Mordy earned his B.S. from Princeton University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is supported by Wellington Management’s broad, deep, and experienced research team.

About The Hartford Mutual Funds

The Hartford Mutual Funds, established in 1996, is one of the fastest-growing mutual fund families. The mutual funds offer a wide array of both broad-mandate and style-focused equity and fixed-income investment options. The Hartford Mutual Funds draw on the investment strength, experience and expertise of Wellington Management, LLP, and Hartford Investment Management Co. These two organizations bring their decades of market experience, in-house investment capabilities, rigorous research and time-tested investment process to bear in managing the funds to help The Hartford Mutual Fund investors meet their long-term financial goals. Total retail mutual fund assets under management were $40.5 billion as of July 31, 2009. For more information on The Hartford Mutual Funds, including current holdings, visit www.hartfordmutualfunds.com.

About The Hartford

Celebrating nearly 200 years, The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) is an insurance-based financial services company that serves households, businesses and employees by helping to protect their assets and income from risks, and by managing wealth and retirement needs. A Fortune 500 company, The Hartford is recognized widely for its service expertise and as one of the world’s most ethical companies. More information on the company and its financial performance is available at www.thehartford.com.

HIG-L

Past performance is no indication of future results.

© 2008 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warrantied to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

¹ Source: Morningstar.© Morningstar percentile rankings are based on the total return percentile rank (excluding sales charge) within each Morningstar Category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100.

² Net operating expenses are the expenses you’re currently paying to own the Fund. If the net operating expenses shown are lower than the gross operating expenses, then the net operating expenses reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements from the investment advisor that may be discontinued at any time. For more information on fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, please see the expense table in the prospectus.

³ Gross operating expenses shown are before management fee waivers or expense caps. Performance information may reflect historical or current expense waivers or reimbursements, without which, performance would have been lower. For more information on fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, please see the expense table in the prospectus.

Some of the statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially. Investors should consider the important risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. These important risks and uncertainties include those discussed in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update this release, which speaks as of the date issued.

Mid cap investing generally have higher risk and return characteristics than large-company stocks.

A portion of the fund may be invested in foreign securities, and subject to the associated risks. Please see a prospectus for the current percentage.

The fund uses a value style of investing. Overlooked or otherwise undervalued securities entail a significant risk of never attaining their potential value.

The Hartford Mutual Funds are underwritten and distributed by Hartford Investment Financial Services, LLC and Hartford Securities Distribution Company, Inc.

"The Hartford" is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Wellington Management Company, LLP is an independent and unaffiliated sub-adviser to the Hartford.

NOT INSURED BY FDIC OR ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY * MAY LOSE VALUE * NOT A DEPOSIT OF OR GUARANTEED BY ANY BANK OR BANK AFFILIATE

You should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of The Hartford Mutual Funds before investing. This and other information can be found in the Funds' prospectus, which can be obtained from your investment representative or by calling 888-843-7824. Please read it carefully before you invest or send money.